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The US missile defense system in the Asia-Pacific region is an element of the national missile defense system of the United States. Perspective early warning system reveals ballistic missile launches and destroys them in the active phase of flight.
According to American military experts, deploying a missile defense system should strengthen security in the region and become a guarantee of non-aggression in the foreseeable future of the DPRK on the Republic of Korea (ROK) or Japan, and, consequently, to the United States.
From 17 to 23 August 2014, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work made a working tour of the Asia-Pacific region, [1] during which he met with the heads of the defense ministries of the ROK and Japan, visited Guam and Hawaii. During the meetings the issues of counter-terrorism, global security and missile defense were discussed.
The direction of the US policy to strengthen its influence in the Asia-Pacific region is due to the increasing economic and military potential of China. That also confirms the US desire to form a new alliance of "security" in the Asia-Pacific region, ignoring the positions of Russia and China. The new alliance, forming in the Asia-Pacific region can consist of the Philippines, Australia, and Japan, with the possible participation of Singapore and Thailand. In addition, Washington considers Malaysia as a strategic partner.
According to the military experts, the deployment of US missile defense segment in the region shows the uncertainty of the US leadership in the undeniable advantages of the contingent of troops that is used in an armed conflict with China and North Korea [2] in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea, and Russia in the Kuril Islands.
The elements of the US missile defense system, as well as all military installations outside the territory of the state, are the property of the United States, and are aimed to protect their own interests in the first place.
SCO member states were critical of the unilateral strengthening of US missile defense system, regarding it as a threat to global security. [3]
According to the statements made by Chinese officials, deploying a missile defense system in Northeast Asia (near the borders of China) will lead to a security violation in the region. [4] [5]
The point of view of the Russian government clearly defines the deployment of US missile defense system in the Asia-Pacific region as a security threat.
"We will be adequate and response proportionately to NATO's military infrastructure pushing to our borders and do not leave deployment of a global missile defense and upbuilding strategic stocks of precision weapons unattended." [6] - Vladimir Putin.
According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, Russian authority is confident in the adverse effect of the deployment of the US missile defense system on the military-political situation in Asia-Pacific and the world. [7] [8]
Russian scientists say that the elements of the US missile defense system can adversely affect the health of people living in its vicinity. [9]
Japan continues a policy of strengthening existing bilateral alliances (primarily with the USA) and developing relationships with prospective partners, among which is India. In 2014, together with the US Navy "Standard-3" shipborne missiles tests were conducted. According to Chinese media, in October 2014 the US military brought missile defense forces X-band radar to the base of the Armed forces of the United States in Kyoto, the commissioning of which must occur before the end of 2014.
North Korea continues the course of increasing and strengthening its missile forces. On August 14, 2014 it launched the five short-range missiles KY-09, that were carried out in response to the intention of the ROC and the United States to carry out annual joint military exercises "Ulchi-Freedom Guardian". After the start of the exercise, the North Korean leadership has once again accused the ROC and the United States in preparation for the invasion of North Korea and the threat of pre-emptive strike on the territory of South Korea. Also, the North Korean leadership said that it will increase its nuclear capabilities "in the case of deployment of the US mobile complexes THAAD on the territory of the Republic of Korea." [10]
Pyongyang was particularly irritated by the fact that the United States implement their plans in Asia Pacific under the pretext of combating the "threat from the North."
The Republic of Korea (ROK) is a strategic partner of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. And the question of the development of joint missile defense system aimed primarily against its northern neighbor is no exception. [11] Currently, South Korea has already placed the US anti-missile complexes "Patriot" PAC-2. In the future, the THAAD system will be built.
Deputy Minister of Defense: "We have explained to China and Russia, that it is not strategic missile defense systems. THAAD is designed to support regional security and prevent threats directed against the United States and our allies. We continue to work together with the Chinese and Russian, to dispel any of their concerns that THAAD may pose a threat to their strategic missile systems." [12]
Leaders of ROK shall make every possible effort to coordinate the actions of major countries of Northeast Asia in the issue of nuclear safety, that is expressed in the proposal of President Park Geun-hye to create a consultative body for nuclear safety in Northeast Asia. According to an official statement of the President of South Korea, the main participants of that body will become South Korea, China and Japan. However, Park Geun-hye added, that Russia, the US, North Korea, and Mongolia will also participate in the meetings and negotiations on key issues of regional security.
Seoul still retains a cautious stance, as the deployment of any US missile defense systems will be perceived as taking part in the US-led missile defense program. The ROK leaders also have concerns that the integration of its missile defense system with the US missile defense system could lead to diplomatic tension with China, [13] the largest trading partner of South Korea.
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" is a generic term for a system designed to intercept and destroy any type of ballistic threat; however, it is commonly used for systems specifically designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The Aegis ballistic missile defense system, also known as Sea-Based Midcourse, is a Missile Defense Agency program under the United States Department of Defense developed to provide missile defense against short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The program is part of the United States national missile defense strategy and European NATO missile defense system.
National missile defense (NMD) refers to the nationwide antimissile program the United States has had development since the 1990s. After the renaming in 2002, the term now refers to the entire program, not just the ground-based interceptors and associated facilities.
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase by intercepting with a hit-to-kill approach. THAAD was developed after the experience of Iraq's Scud missile attacks during the Gulf War in 1991. The THAAD interceptor carries no warhead, instead relying on its kinetic energy of impact to destroy the incoming missile.
The S-400 Triumf, previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S-300 family of missiles. The S-400 was approved for service on 28 April 2007 and the first battalion of the systems assumed combat duty on 6 August 2007. The system is complemented by its successor, the S-500.
The S-300VM "Antey-2500" is a Russian anti-ballistic missile system. The system is designed to target short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, aeroballistic missiles, cruise missiles, fixed-wing aircraft, loitering ECM platforms, and precision-guided munitions.
The 9K720 Iskander is a Russian mobile short-range ballistic missile system. They travel at a terminal hypersonic speed of 2,100–2,600 metres per second and can reach an altitude of 50 kilometres as they range up to 500 kilometres. It was intended to replace the OTR-21 Tochka in the Russian military by 2020.
Diplomatic relations between South Korea and the United States commenced in 1949. The United States helped establish the modern state of South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, and fought on its UN-sponsored side in the Korean War (1950–1953). During the subsequent decades, South Korea experienced tremendous economic, political and military growth.
Diplomatic relations between the Qing dynasty and the Korean Empire were established on September 11, 1899, but relations were halted in 1905 as a result of the Eulsa Treaty that made Korea a Japanese protectorate and which was then annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. Later, the Republic of China government recognized the formation of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea on April 13, 1919, as one of the participants of the Cairo Conference, which resulted in the Cairo Declaration. One of the main purposes of the Cairo Declaration was to create an independent Korea, free from Japanese colonial rule. Bilateral diplomatic relations between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Republic of China were re-established in 1948, just after the foundation of the First Republic, hence making China, the first country to recognize the Republic of Korea as the sole legitimate government of Korea. During the Cold War, the People's Republic of China recognized only the Democratic People's Republic of Korea while South Korea in turn recognized only the Republic of China (Taiwan).
The S-500 Prometheus, also known as 55R6M "Triumfator-M", is a Russian surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system supplementing the S-400 and the A-235 ABM missile system. The S-500 was developed by the Almaz-Antey Air Defence Concern. Initially planned to be in production by 2014, the first unit entered service in 2021 with the 15th Aerospace Army. Russia claims that the S-500 is capable of intercepting all types of modern hypersonic weapons; and has claimed to have successfully tested such capability. Russia is reportedly planning to deploy the S-500 alongside the planned S-550 missile system as part of its air defense network.
The "nuclear umbrella" is a guarantee by a nuclear weapons state to defend a non-nuclear allied state. The context is usually the security alliances of the United States with Australia, Japan, South Korea, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Compact of Free Association. Those alliances were formed because of the Cold War and the Soviet Union. For some countries, it was an alternative to acquiring nuclear weapons themselves; other alternatives include regional nuclear-weapon-free zones or nuclear sharing.
The NATO missile defense system is a missile defense system being constructed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in several member states and around the Mediterranean Sea. Plans for this system have changed several times since first studied in 2002, including as a response to Russian opposition.
Missile defense systems are a type of missile defense intended to shield a country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or other ballistic missiles. The United States, Russia, India, France, Israel, Italy, United Kingdom, China and Iran have all developed missile defense systems.
Kaliningrad Special Region was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1997 to 2010. It was tasked with the defense of the Kaliningrad Oblast and protection of national interests in the southern Baltic. The area of the KDA was unique in Russia, as separate branches of the armed forces existed under a single command. In recent years, the Kaliningrad Special Region played an important role in countering the U.S. missile defense system in Europe. On September 1, 2010, the district was merged with the Leningrad and Moscow military districts to create the Western Military District.
The RS-28 Sarmat, often colloquially referred to as Satan II by media outlets, is a three-stage Russian silo-based, liquid-fueled, HGV-capable and FOBS-capable super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau. It is intended to replace the Soviet R-36M ICBM in Russia's arsenal.
The following lists events that happened in 2013 in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In 2013, tensions between North Korea and South Korea, the United States, and Japan escalated because of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2087, which condemned North Korea for the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2. The crisis was marked by increased rhetoric by the new North Korean administration under Kim Jong-un and actions suggesting imminent nuclear attacks against South Korea, Japan, and the United States.
The Pukguksong-1 or Pukkŭksŏng-1, Bukgeukseong-1, alternatively KN-11 in intelligence communities outside North Korea, is a North Korean, two-stage submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that was successfully flight tested on 24 August 2016.
In the year 2016, North Korea conducted two nuclear tests: one in January and the other in September. Additionally, the country conducted several missile tests. As consequence, the United Nations Security Council adopted three resolutions against North Korea.
In the year 2017, North Korea was involved in the 2017 North Korea crisis, along with other events. The country conducted a nuclear test in September, and several missile tests throughout the year. One of these was the country's first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasong-14. Two missiles were launched over Hokkaido in the Japanese archipelago, in August and in September 2017.
The 2017–2018 North Korea crisis was a period of heightened tension between North Korea and the United States throughout 2017. The crisis began early in 2017 when North Korea conducted a series of missile and nuclear tests that demonstrated the country's ability to launch ballistic missiles beyond its immediate region, suggesting their nuclear weapons capability was developing at a faster rate than had been assessed by U.S. intelligence. Both countries started exchanging increasingly heated rhetoric, including nuclear threats and personal attacks between the two leaders, which, compounded by a joint U.S.–South Korea military exercise undertaken in August and North Korea's sixth nuclear test in September, raised international tensions in the region and beyond and stoked fears about a possible nuclear conflict between the two nations. In addition, North Korea also threatened Australia twice with nuclear strikes throughout the year for their allegiance with the United States. International relations lecturer and former government strategist Van Jackson said in the book On the Brink: Trump, Kim, and the Threat of Nuclear War that it was the closest the world had come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis.